Change II

When they arrived at Jin's office Mule and Nam Mu sat down with a heavy sigh. "How did the lessons go?" Mule moaned, grabbing his head. "I... I feel like my head is about to burst." Jin had a confused look on his face. Li Jie laughed. "Mule has decided that he wants to learn too. We focused on counting today. It took a toll on Mule." Jin started to laugh. "Mule? This is the first time I've seen you interested in learning... What is going on?" Mule shrugged. "I'll need to show master Nam Mu round and help him when he goes to the palace." Jin's smile froze. "Who said you're going to the palace?" Mule pouted, the other pulled a face. Jin had grabbed a back scratcher and hit Mule's head with it. "Never ever do that again. You looked like a hairless mixed breed!" Mule looked shocked, grabbing his curly head. "Master Jin! How can you insult me like that! First you deny me going to the palace with master Nam Mu and now you're even calling me names." Nam Mu and Li Jie started to laugh. Master Jin shook his head at Mule. "Have you already forgotten who you're working for?"

Mule scratched his head. "Like I'm the only servant you have?! I've never been to the palace before?!" Jin glared at Mule. "So..." Mule shrugged. "I just want to know what's so special." Jin shook his head. "Are you jealous of your brother?" Mule shook his head but the other didn't believe him for one second. "Li Jie is going to the palace with Nam Mu. I'll have to see if it's smart to send it to you too." Mule wanted to pout again but he saw Jin reach for the scathed. Instead he stood up and left the room. Nam Mu and Li Jie looked at Mule leaving with a shocked face. "Don't worry. He's getting refreshments. He might be angry but he never forgets his work." After 5 minutes Mule returned still looking angry but with a tray filled with refreshments. The three of them were hungry from learning, so instead of waiting for Jin to eat first, they each grabbed a bread roll and started to eat. Jin looked amused. After they had some food in their belly, Jin finally started to ask questions.

"Young master Li Jie, do you think it's possible to teach Master Nam Mu everything in three months?" Li Jie shrugged. "We've just started, Master Nam Mu is smart but to be safe let's keep with the story of him traveling around. That will help if he doesn't know the answers to some questions. I do have a few questions of my own that need to be answered. Is master's Nam Mu 'father' a real person and what is the story about Nam Mu traveling at such a young age?" Nam Mu looked at them both while they were talking about him like he wasn't in the room. "Should I come back later?" Jin ignored Nam Mu's words before nodding. "Na Gil is a real and alive man. He, Ping and I have been friends for more than a decade. As to why Nam Mu has been traveling since a young boy..." Jin looked at Nam Mu. "I haven't told you anything about the man who's going to be your father. Sorry.

I've even invited him to come visit you. He'll arrive any day now. Na Gil will also help you with some of your teachings." Nam Mu looked surprised. He thought that it might take months even years before he got to meet this Na Gil. "Don't worry. Na Gil is very happy to finally have a son. He doesn't have a family of his own. With you becoming his legal son, he'll finally have somebody to inherit his business." Nam Mu wasn’t sure how he felt about receiving an inheritance from a man he had never met before. Would Na Gil really just hand him everything he owned just because Ping had told him to adopt Nam Mu? "The reason for us creating a story of Nam Mu traveling around so much is that Na Gil is a merchant just like Ping and I. That's how we actually got to know him. After crossing each other's path on more than one occasion, we became friends. We would try to meet up if we were in the same area.

One day, when we were supposed to meet up he didn't show up. It was very unusual because this was the first time that he had missed an appointment with us. Na Gil is a very strict man. When he makes a promise, he always keeps it. After two days of not hearing anything from him, we went looking and discovered that he was indeed missing. We looked at all the places he was known to go but we lost his trail near a town called Loulan.”

Jin grabbed a cup and poured himself some tea. The boys were impatient waiting for him to carry on with the story. Mule had heard this story many times before. His thoughts were on putting a plan together to get himself in the palace. After taking a few sips Jin finally continued the story. “We looked and looked but we couldn’t find any trace of him in the neighboring places. After looking for more than four months we decided to go home and think of other ways to find him. We didn’t want to believe that he had died. As long as we didn’t find his body we were sure that he was alive. Two years later he mysteriously reappeared in Aksu, a small town in the Xinjiang region.

Ping and I rushed to the town to find out where he had been those two years. Na Gil told us that he had been staying in Sanxingdui.” He looked at the two boys and saw that they both looked confused. “I’m sure you haven’t heard of it... Sanxingdui was part of the kingdom of Shu. They were famed for their bronze forgery. Na Gil told us that he was planning on getting his affairs together and going back, never to return again. We didn't believe him until he showed us the wares, some of them had never been seen or made anywhere else.” Li Jie looked confused. “Why didn’t you believe him?” Jin gave them a shrug. “Sanxingdui was and is still unknown to many people. They weren't dependent on trade like the other cities. Sanxingdui was self-sustainable and needed no help from the outside world. Ping and I decided that we would go with him to see if we could start a trading route there. But Na Gil was struck with chickenpox when he returned to Goryeo. The illness nearly killed him. It took him a long time before he was back to his old self.” Jin stopped talking again.

Nam Mu and Li Jie were waiting for more but Jin had a far off look on his face. “Master Jin…” Nam Mu looked at Jin wondering what he was thinking. “Did you all go back?” Jin let out a deep sigh. “Yes. But when we reached Sanxingdui, it was gone. We think that there was a massive earthquake that led to a landslide that buried the whole town. We tried to find the possible location but the landslide had completely changed the terrain. We still don’t know if any of the inhabitants have survived or moved to a different location. There are many questions that have yet to be answered.” He sighed again. Jin still remembers the wealth Na Gil received after selling all the goods but he also recalled sitting beside Na Gil’s bed wondering if he was about to take his last breath.

"There is something you need to know. After getting ill, he changed a bit. You'll see what I mean when he arrives. Don't make him uncomfortable about it. Also Sanxingdui has become his obsession. Try not to mention its name. He'll drag you to help him look or dig around the area." Nam Mu and Li Jie looked at each other wondering what the changes would be. Jin smiled before clapping his hands. "Alright. Go and explore the city. Try to make friends and learn the way around the city." Jin looked at Nam Mu. "I'll see you guys tonight." He waved the boys away. Mule took both boys outside. After a few minutes Jin turned around. "What do you think of your future son?" Jin watched as a panel opened to reveal a hidden room.

A tall man walked out looking impressed. He would be very handsome if it wasn’t from the scars that covered his cheeks. He was around 1.80, with short black, curly hair but what was most striking were his eyes. One was bright blue, while the other was black like the night. "Son?! I thought Ping was pulling a trick on me. I did a double take when I saw him." They both laughed. Na Gil sat down before grabbing a cup. He lifted the pot up looking at Jin. Jin nodded for Na Gil to pour tea for the both of them. Na Gil had a weird look on his face. "I'm not obsessed. I... I'm sure one day I'll find Sanxingdui back." Jin rolled his eyes. "Nam Mu seems to be a good kid. I’m sure he’ll make us proud." Na Gil didn’t say anything. He gazed in his cup, not even taking a sip. He was not happy with Jin changing the subject. “Is Ping sure that this boy is the one? I don’t feel anything special from him.” Jin nodded thinking the same. “I know what you mean but Ping has never been wrong about anything. There are also too many mysteries surrounding the boy." Na Gil looked intrigued. "Nam Mu’s lineage and past is obscure. This is the first time I've met someone I couldn’t read. I can’t even see any of his past lives.”

Na Gil’s brows went up. “He doesn’t have any past lives?” Jin nodded before shaking his head. “Yes and no. Everybody has at least two to three past lives, depending on how long and how well they’ve lived. I'm sure that Nam Mu has that too but I can't see it or more precisely I can't pass his soul now.” Na Gil still looked confused. Jin got frustrated by Na Gil’s lack of understanding. “God! Let me try to simplify it for you. Reincarnation is when the soul changes bodies, like a person changes garments. But it seems like Nam Mu has kept his garments. He... He seems like a new soul or maybe immortal. I haven't figured it out yet.” Na Gil laughed. “Alright. So Nam Mu is an immortal without memories of his immortal life?”

Jin rolled his eyes. “Just shut up. This is going nowhere.” Jin changed the subject before he got really angry. “Let’s talk about how to make Nam Mu a true young master from Goryeo.” Na Gil was still laughing. “The day after tomorrow I’ll spend the day with him. I’ll assess what to do then. He just arrived here a day ago. Let him enjoy his freedom for now. He’ll be struggling the next 3 months.” Jin didn’t like the smirk on Na Gil’s face. “He’s not going to war! Don’t even think of…” Na Gil’s hand went up. “I’m not going to beat him to death. I want him to be like all the other rich boys. Don’t worry, he won’t die. It will only make him stronger.” Jin looked unconvinced. “Trust me. I’ll make a real man out of him.” Jin was not really happy with Na Gil’s idea but he had no say any more. Nam Mu has officially become Na Gil’s son. “Just don’t hurt him. Ping will have your head if you hurt Nam Mu.” Na Gil just nodded, picking up his cup. Na Gil wasn't planning on doing anything dangerous. He just wants to make Nam Mu stronger.